The Liezi is considered the third most important text in Daoism after the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi. Chapter three is named Dreams and focuses on harmony and perspective.
Creation
The sage recognizes that the Way is responsible for creation. This process is too complex to truly understand so we label it Way for convenience sake.
“The Creator’s ingenuity is mysterious, His operations secret and profound.”
It creates constant change. It is responsible for important events such as birth, growth, happiness, and death. It seeks balance and results in differences in temperature, light, intelligence, strength, and wakefulness.
“The point at which creation begins, the change effected by the Dual Principles — these are called respectively Life and Death. That which underlies the manifold workings of Destiny is called Evolution…It is his spontaneity that constitutes the mystery.“
Reality
The sage recognizes that life and death are both aspects of creation.
“Essential matter unites with extensive energy to become a bodily substance, which follows the line of evolution and passes away, but does not, on that account, relapse into nothingness...Therefore it arises anon, and anon it is destroyed.”
Dreams and wakefulness are also aspects of creation.
“’Once upon a time,’ he said, ‘a wood-cutter dreamt that he had got a deer, but couldn’t remember the place where he had put it. Now I have found the deer, so it appears that his dream was a true dream. ‘On the contrary,’ said his wife, ‘it is you who must have dreamt that you met a wood-cutter who had caught a deer. Here you have a deer, true enough. But where is the wood-cutter? It is evidently your dream that has come true.’ ‘I have certainly got a deer,’ replied her husband ; ‘so what does it matter to us whether it was his dream or mine?’”
Moderation
The sage strives for moderation which includes finding the proper work life balance. Working too hard causes exhaustion.
“All day long he was groaning as he went about his work, and when night came he was reeling with fatigue and would sleep like a log. His spirit was then free to wander at will, and every night he dreamt that he was a king, enthroned in authority over the multitude, and controlling the affairs of the whole State. He took his pleasure in palaces and belvederes, following his own fancy in everything, and his happiness was beyond compare.”
Forcing others to work too hard will also lead to unbalance. Mr. Yin was a businessman who worked his employees too hard.
“Every night he dreamt that he was another man’s servant, running about on menial business of every description, and subjected to every possible kind of abuse and ill-treatment. He would mutter and groan in his sleep, and obtained no relief until morning came.”
In the Moment
The sage stays in the moment and doesn’t worry about the future or regret the past. Huazi of Song had short term memory. His family sought help and he was eventually cured.
“Lately, when I was steeped in forgetfulness, my senses were so benumbed that I was quite unconscious of the existence of the outer world. But now I have been brought suddenly to a perception of the events of half a lifetime. Preservation and destruction, gain and loss, sorrow and joy, love and hate have begun to throw out their myriad tentacles to invade my peace; and these emotions will, I fear, continue to keep my mind in the state of turmoil that I now experience. Oh ! if I could but recapture a short moment of that blessed oblivion!”
Perspective
The sage never assumes they are right and recognizes the perspectives of others. Mr. Pang’s son has a condition where he saw everything backward. What was white to others was black to him. The sage knows that from the son’s point of view everyone else is confused.
The king thought the palace he built was the most beautiful ever created.
“It stood six thousand feet high, overtopping Mount Zhongnan, and it was called Touch-the-sky Pavilion...Ravishing music was played to the honored guest by the Imperial bands; several times a month he was presented with fresh jeweled raiment; every day he had set before him some new and delicious food.”
Yet when he saw the magician’s palace set in the clouds with unrivaled sights, sounds, and scents he knew his palace could not compare.
“He gazed at his own palace on the earth below, and it seemed to him no better than a rude pile of clods and brushwood.”
The sage acknowledges that perception shapes reality. They are always willing to see things from another’s perspective.
“Pointing out a certain shrine, they told him that it was his own village altar, and he heaved a deep sigh. They showed him a house, and said: ‘This is where your ancestors lived;’ and the tears welled up in his eyes. Finally, they brought him in front of a mound and said: ‘This is the tomb where your ancestors lie buried.’ The old man could control himself no longer, and wept aloud. But his fellow-travellers burst into roars of laughter. ‘We have been hoaxing you,’ they cried; this is only the Jin State.”
Conclusion
While the sage doesn’t understand the Way, they realize it is responsible for creation and change yet seeks balance. Life, death, reality, and dreams are all aspects of the Way. Moderation is a way to find balance and includes finding a good work life balance. The sage stays in the moment and does not regret the past or worry about the future. They never assume they are right and consider the perspectives of others. They understand that perception defines reality.
Resource
Teachings from the Book of Liezih Tzu. Lionel Giles, translator. 1912. Classic public domain translation of Chapters 1-6, and 8 of the Book of Liezi.
The Book of Master Lie, Thomas Cleary, translator. 2011. A nice translation of Liezi.
